Editing Jury trial (section)

=== Holy Roman Empire and modern Germany ===
A [[Swabia]]n ordinance of 1562 called for the summons of jurymen (''{{lang|de|urtheiler}}''), and various methods were in use in [[Emmendingen]], [[Oppenau]], and [[Oberkirch (Baden)|Oberkirch]].{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=369}} [[Hauenstein]]'s charter of 1442 secured the right to be tried in all cases by 24 fellow equals, and in [[Freiburg im Breisgau|Freiburg]] the jury was composed of 30 citizens and councilors.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=370}} The modern jury trial was first introduced in the [[Rhineland|Rhenish provinces]] in 1798, with a court consisting most commonly of 12 citizens (''{{lang|de|[[:wiktionary:Bürger|Bürger]]}}'').{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=369}}

The system whereby citizens were tried by their peers chosen from the entire community in open court was gradually superseded by a system of professional judges<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of Trial by Jury|last=Forsyth|first=William|publisher=Nabu Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1141968268}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} in Germany, in which the process of investigation was more or less confidential and judgements were issued by judges appointed by the state.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=371}} In [[Konstanz|Constance]] the jury trial was suppressed by decree of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] in 1786.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=370}} The [[Frankfurt Constitution]] of the failed [[German revolutions of 1848–49|Revolutions of 1848]] called for jury trials for "the more serious crimes and all political offenses",{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=137}} but was never implemented after the [[Frankfurt Parliament]] was dissolved by [[Württemberg]] [[dragoon]]s. An 1873 draft on criminal procedure produced by the [[Prussia]]n Ministry of Justice proposed to abolish the jury and replace it with the mixed system, causing a significant political debate.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=139}} In the [[Weimar Republic]] the jury was abolished by the [[Emminger Reform]] of 4 January 1924.{{sfn|Kahn-Freund|1974|loc=footnote 73, p. 18}}

Between 1948 and 1950 in [[Allied-occupied Germany|American-occupied Germany]] and the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]], [[Bavaria]] returned to the jury trial as it had existed before the 1933 emergency decrees,{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=141}}{{sfn|Vogler|2005|p=245}} but they were again abolished by the 1950 Unification Act (''{{lang|de|Vereinheitlichungsgesetz}}'') for the Federal Republic. In 1979, the United States tried the East German [[LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 hijacking|LOT Flight 165 hijacking]] suspects in the [[United States Court for Berlin]] in West Berlin, which declared the defendants had the right to a jury trial under the [[United States Constitution]], and hence were tried by a West German jury.